First Steps
by Matt Briddell
Summary: A continuation of ChronoGenesis, an account of Glen's first days at the Institute. Last 3 chapters are up. This is my last story until mid-August, but there is more coming, and the next one will be big! Meanwhile, R+R+E (Read, Review, and Enjoy!)
1. Morning Encounters

Chapter 1  
  
The sun shone through the windows at the Xavier Institute. A beam of light cast itself across Glen Hilliard's face. He blinked his eyes and looked over at his friend Sam, lying next to him. He smiled, recalling all the events of the previous day; his first encounter with Sam, their visit home, the first kiss they had shared together. Then the mad flight that had occurred afterwards when his stepfather, "correction", he thought to himself. 'EX-stepfather," had found them together. He recalled what had happened next, an event that he had thought only existed in comic books and movies; he had powers, and he had frozen the man in time. He discovered another use of his powers a little later, using them to save himself from being run over by a truck, but the events had overwhelmed him and he had nearly been lost in another dimension of some kind. He had met Charles Xavier, who had helped pull him out of the time warp he was stuck in and offered to help him control his powers. Finally, he recalled rescuing his mother from the beating she was about to receive from his former stepfather. And then there had been the previous night.  
  
He and Sam had kissed each other for what had seemed like an eternity (and in a way it had been) until they finally fell asleep in each other's arms.  
  
  
  
He looked down at Sam again. The beam of light played across Sam's face, and he stirred. Glen leaned down and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good morning," he said, smiling. Sam said nothing, but just grinned back, and then gave Glen a kiss of his own. "That was wonderful, last night," Sam said. "I hope we can do it again some time," "I'm sure that can be arranged," said Glen, running his hand through Sam's hair. Sam giggled, then suddenly looked at his watch. 'Oh no! My parents are gonna be home soon! I gotta get home!" "Don't worry, we can call a taxi," said Glen. They walked out of the bedroom, looking for a phone. After a minute of searching, they encountered Xavier. "Good morning, Professor. Uh, could we call a taxi? Sam needs to get home, quickly," "Of course," said Xavier. "Just remember, Sam, don't tell people what you've seen here," "I promise," said Sam. A little while later, Glen was watching Sam get into a taxi and drive off.  
  
  
  
"Why don't you get some breakfast, Glen, and then I can show you around the Institute. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen," said Xavier, wheeling around and heading back inside. Glen walked back inside and headed toward the kitchen. As he approached the kitchen, he heard a girl laughing, and then a thick accented voice shout, "Come back here!" This was followed by the crash of a chair being knocked over. He looked towards the kitchen, curious at the source of the noise. Suddenly, he saw a girl appear, running THROUGH one of the walls of the kitchen. Stunned, Glen watched her run across the room, thinking to himself, "Did I just see what I thought I saw?" Then, he heard the accented voice again. "Look out!" it shouted. Glen turned around just in time to see a blue figure hurtling towards him, out of control. There was a collision, and the two went tumbling over in a pile of arms, legs, and tail.  
  
  
  
Glen sat up slowly, rubbing his head. He heard the voice again, "I'm sorry! Are you all right?" "Yeah," said Glen, looking up. "Just a little…" his voice trailed off as he saw to whom the voice belonged. Sitting in front of him was what appeared to be a boy about his own age, but radically different. He was covered in blue fur, his eyes gleamed golden, and Glen saw a spaded tail extending out from behind the boy. He gazed at the boy, awestruck at his appearance.  
  
  
  
Kurt looked down at the boy he had just run into. He was looking back at him in amazement, but as Kurt looked at him, he thought he saw the boy's face change to a look of horror. "Ach! I've done it again!" Kurt thought to himself. "It's always going to be this way!" "I'm, I'm sorry," he muttered, and then teleported away.  
  
  
  
Glen saw Kurt cast his eyes down sadly, and then saw the boy vanish with a loud  
  
-BAMF- and a puff of smoke. "What did I do?" Glen wondered. "Is everybody here going to be like this?"  
  
  
  
Kurt appeared back in his room. He rubbed a tear out of his eye. "It's always like this. Every time I meet somebody, they think I'm a monster!" He rubbed another tear out of his eye, and gazed dejectedly out of his window. 


	2. Explanations

Chapter 2  
  
Glen had eaten breakfast alone and then rejoined Xavier in the Foyer. They walked down one of the hallways until they came to an elevator. Xavier pressed the button for the elevator, and after a few seconds, the door opened and they walked in. Glen felt the elevator start downwards. "Have you met any of the other members yet, Glen?" "Well, I sorta met two of them. There was this one girl, I swore she just ran through a wall. And then there was this other boy, blue fur. We kinda ran into each other, but he disappeared before I could apologize," "Those are Kitty, and Kurt. Kurt's a bit shy because of his appearance. It's something we've been working on for a while," "I suppose he doesn't get out much," "Actually, we've come up with something to help him look just like an ordinary person. A special holo-watch. Anyway, you'll get a chance to meet all of the students here shortly," said Xavier. "They know about what's happened to you, and they're looking forward to meeting you," "Sounds fun," Glen said, trying not to let the nervousness he was feeling show through. "Don't be nervous," said Xavier as the elevator opened into a very large room. "You'll be accepted here, Glen,"  
  
  
  
They entered a massive chamber. There was a large computer console sitting on one side of the room. Gathered around some couches were several people, including a group of kids that looked younger. Glen recognized Scott and Jean, and also the two others, Kitty and Kurt, who he had seen earlier. Kitty gazed at him wonderingly, but Kurt looked away when Glen looked at him. Xavier addressed the crowd. "This is Glen Hilliard, the new student I told you about last night," A chorus of "Hello's" and "Hi's" greeted Glen. Xavier introduced all the students. "You already know Scott and Jean, of course," He moved to the group of younger students. "This is Amara, Ray, Rahne, Jamie, and Bobby," He moved on down the line. "This is Evan, Rogue, Forge, Kitty," "Hi," said Glen. "Hi," said Kitty, grinning slightly. "And finally, Kurt," "Hello," said Kurt, still looking dejected. He extended his hand weakly. "Hi," said Glen, confidently. He grasped Kurt's hand, perfectly adjusting his own fingers to fit Kurt's altered hand.  
  
  
  
"Amazing! Nobody's ever done that before!" Kurt thought to himself as Glen gripped his hand perfectly and shook it. "I'm sorry about this morning. I didn't mean to stare," he heard Glen say. "Oh, no problem. Don't vorry about it," Kurt replied.  
  
  
  
"Glen," said Xavier. "Forge and I have been going over the data we got from the tests we ran last night, and we've figured out the exact nature of your powers," The screen of the console lit up and showed an image like ocean waves, except that they were a purple-white color. Numerous white balls flowed back and forth through the waves. "This," said Xavier, "is Time itself," "Those white balls there are temporal particles," said Forge. "They surround everybody and everything, and they keep everything locked into one specific point in time. As they flow around, time moves forward, from our perspective, anyways," "This is one of the fundamental forces in the universe, and it is something that you apparently can control and manipulate," said Xavier. "This is something that could win you a Nobel prize someday!" said Forge. Xavier continued. "This is a very unique, and very powerful ability, as you have already seen. You've been able to freeze objects in time for a brief period of time, and you can also remove yourself from the normal flow of time. I should warn you, there are people who would go to great lengths to harness these powers," "What sort of people?" asked Glen. "There is a very powerful mutant, who calls himself Magneto. He is convinced that humans and mutants cannot peacefully coexist, and so he is recruiting mutants to help him serve his own ends," "Do you think that people and mutants can get along?" asked Glen. "Someday, yes. That's one of the things we're working for here," said Xavier. "To that end, we have formed our own team, called the X-Men. We want to be able to show that mankind and mutants CAN co-exist, and we want to be ready to fight Magneto, if that situation should arise. There are also groups of humans who believe that we are dangerous. That is why we must exist here in secret, for the time being," "I know what that feels like," said Glen softly. His comment went unnoticed except by one person. Kitty raised her eyebrow when she heard Glen say that. "Like, what's he mean?" she wondered to herself.  
  
  
  
The rest of the morning went by quickly as Xavier showed him the rest of the Institute. Glen saw the massive computer, Cerebro. "This is how we first detected you," explained Xavier. "It's configured to detect the X- gene, and alerts us whenever there is a new emergence," Xavier showed him the hanger with the SR-77, and finally showed him the Danger Room. "This is where the X-Men train. This specially-designed chamber can simulate any kind of conditions and environment. If you'd like, you can observe the next session tomorrow  
  
  
  
After the tour, Glen made his way back to the kitchen and made himself a sandwich for lunch. After a few bites, he turned around and saw Kitty standing in the doorway, looking at him. "Hey, Kitty," said Glen. "Hi," she replied. "So, how are you doing settling in?" "About as well as can be expected, I suppose," Glen said. "It's not every day you find out you're a mutant," "I know what you mean," said Kitty. "It took me a little while to get used to, at first," There was an awkward silence as she looked at him again.  
  
'Hey, like, what did you mean earlier?"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"When you said that you knew what it was like to, you know, live in secret?"  
  
"Because that's what I've had to deal with the last few years, having to worry about people beating me up because of who I am," said Glen.  
  
"Um, are you, like, gay or something?" asked Kitty, nervously.  
  
Glen took another bite of his sandwich, swallowed, and said, matter-of- factly, "Yes, I am,"  
  
He saw Kitty draw back slightly, a confused look on her face. "Something wrong?" asked Glen.  
  
"It's just," she stammered. "Oh, why does it always have to be the cute ones!"  
  
Glen grinned slightly. "Have other boys you've liked told you they're gay?"  
  
"Well, that happened to a couple of friends of mine a while ago. I just don't understand, how could a guy…" she tapered off.  
  
"Well, do you have a boyfriend?" asked Glen.  
  
"Well, sort of," said Kitty, thinking of her on-again, off-again relationship with Lance Alvers.  
  
"Well, whatever you feel for him, that's the same way it is with me, except that I feel that way about guys. I don't know why I'm that way, and I don't really need to know. I just know that that's what makes me happy, and that's the way I am. Sorta like being a mutant,"  
  
"So do you have, you know, a boyfriend?" asked Kitty.  
  
"Well, we kinda just met yesterday, but yeah, I think I'd call him a boyfriend," said Glen.  
  
"I think I understand," said Kitty. She suddenly leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later," she said, turning and leaving the kitchen.  
  
"THAT was interesting," mused Glen as he finished his sandwich. He looked again and saw somebody else he had not seen before. The man had blue fur, like Kurt, and looked almost like a bear. "Hello, Glen. I overheard some of your conversation. I'm Hank McCoy, or Beast, if you will," "Hello," said Glen, shaking McCoy's hand. "Tell me," said McCoy. "I saw in your profile that you're a Classics student in school. Have you ever read Plato?" "Not really. I haven't studied much Latin or Greek, honestly, but I do sorta like it," "Well, I have a copy of the Symposium I can loan you. I think you might appreciate some of Plato's views on homosexuality," "Thanks," said Glen. "I don't know if I'll have time for it over the next few days. It sounds like I'm going to be pretty busy,"  
  
McCoy grinned. "Yes, you certainly are. Eat up, the Danger Room can be quite taxing,"  
  
Glen swallowed nervously and started making another sandwich. Something came to his mind as he did. "Hey," he asked. "Are you and Kurt related?"  
  
"No," said McCoy. "My own mutation is unique to myself. As for Kurt, he's a bit of a mystery. We're not entirely sure why he is the way he is,"  
  
"He's pretty shy about his appearance," said Glen.  
  
"Mmm, yes, that has been something that he has struggled to overcome. He's made some progress, but it's a long process. After all, his appearance is something that will be with him for the rest of his life,"  
  
"I see," said Glen as McCoy left the kitchen. "Maybe I can do something about that," he thought to himself. 


	3. Danger Room!

Chapter 3  
  
Glen made his way back down to the Danger Room. When he arrived, he found that the rest of the students were already in the middle of a session. He heard Xavier calling to him in his mind, "Glen, come up to the control room. You can observe from there," "I'm coming, Professor," he thought back. He walked over to the small lift that took him up to the control room. Inside, he saw Xavier and Storm observing the students. Inside the Danger Room, Scott, Jean, Evan, and Kurt were being assailed by a variety of laser cannons, tentacles, and other mechanical defenses. He saw Scott blast a couple cannons with his eye beams, while Evan shot a barrage of spikes into another one, shattering the mount and sending it crashing to the floor. "Doesn't that get expensive after a while?" Glen asked. "We use advanced nanotechnology. The machines are self-replicating. No matter how many cannons Cyclops shoots out, the Danger Room can always create more,"  
  
"Cyclops?"  
  
"Scott's code-name. All of the X-Men have code-names. Part of the whole team concept. Scott is Cyclops, Kurt is Nightcrawler, and Evan is Spyke,"  
  
"Guess I'll have to think up a name later," said Glen.  
  
Glen looked back down into the Danger Room, where the action was beginning to pick up. Kurt teleported on top of one of the tentacles, trying and disable it. The tentacle began thrashing around wildly, trying to throw him off. Kurt struggled to hold on, and managed to reach inside an open panel on the side of the thing and yank out some of the wires. The tentacle fell limp to the floor of the room. Kurt raised his arms and gave a whoop of triumph. As he did so, a laser cannon on the ceiling swiveled around and targeted him. Kurt was so caught up celebrating that he was unaware of the danger. Jean caught sight of the cannon warming up and pointed her hand at a pile of debris, sending it hurtling into the laser. The laser exploded as the pile of junk crashed into it. As the cannon exploded, the lights in the room flashed, and the cannons shot down. Xavier activated the intercom. "Well done," he said. "But Kurt, next time you feel like celebrating, make sure you're not going to get shot at first," "Ja, Professor, I got a bit excited," said Kurt. "Of course. Rest up for a few minutes, we'll be starting another session shortly," Xavier turned to Glen. "Think you're ready?" "I'll give it a shot," said Glen. "Excellent. Go back downstairs, you'll find a uniform in one of the lockers,"  
  
  
  
Glen hurried downstairs and opened up the locker, finding a dark-blue jump- suit inside. He changed and made his way back to the entrance to the Room. The door opened with a pneumatic hiss, and he walked inside. As the doors closed, he heard Xavier on the intercom. "X-Men, Glen will be participating in this session. We're going to try out some of the new programming. Good luck," "So what exactly do I do?" asked Glen. "Simple," replied Scott. "Don't get shot!" The lights flashed red. "Session beginning in 3, 2, 1, begin!"  
  
  
  
Glen heard a grinding sound as a laser cannon swiveled around towards him. It shot a blast at him, which he was able to dodge by jumping out of the way. It shot several more blasts at him. Glen scurried across the floor, jumping and spinning out of the way of the blasts. "What are you waiting for?" Scott called in between eye blasts. "Freeze the thing!" Glen dodged another blast, then pointed his arm at the cannon and shot a ray of purple- white energy at the cannon. The ray snaked around the cannon and then burst outwards, engulfing the cannon in a bubble of time. "Nice shooting!" called Kurt. "Thanks!" yelled back Glen. Suddenly, he felt the floor shift under his feet, and several panels began to sink into the floor, creating a large ring along the perimeter of the room. "What's happening?" Glen shouted. "Great, you get the wheel of fortune your first time in!" yelled Evan. "Just stay out of its way!" Glen looked over his shoulder to see a large spiked wheel settle into the ring in the floor. With a groan of metal, it started rolling forward. Meanwhile, more lasers began to fire. Glen froze another one, and Evan shot spikes into a third. Kurt was teleporting all around the room, avoiding the electric fire. He appeared on top of a cannon and tried to yank out its circuitry, but the cannon was spinning so wildly that he couldn't get inside the access panel. Meanwhile, another cannon across the room locked onto him. "Kurt, look out!" shouted Scott. Kurt looked up to see the cannon firing, and jumped off from his perch just before it was vaporized. He did a somersault in the air and landed expertly on his feet. All the teleporting was starting to wear him down. As he took in deep breaths, he didn't see the wheel bearing down on him.  
  
  
  
Glen saw Kurt land right in the path of the wheel. He saw that all of the other X-Men were occupied. Kurt didn't see what was headed for him. "There's no way I can get to him in time," thought Glen. "Or maybe there is. I hope I can do this right," He felt the energy surge through his arms, and he crossed his arms over his chest. As he did, he saw a brilliant flash of purple-white light, and he was standing alone in time. He saw that everything else in the Danger Room had stopped, and that the room was filled with the purple-white light. "Amazing!" Glen said, still in awe of being able to exist in a totally different dimension. He had little time to gape, however, before his power began to wear off. He could see the normal colors of the room beginning to bleed back into his vision. "Don't have much time!" he thought, and took off in a run. He made it to Kurt just as he re-entered normal time, and tackled him, shoving him out of the way of the oncoming wheel. "Thanks!" said Kurt. "Don't mention it! Hey, is there any way we can stop that wheel?" Glen called. "Hang on," replied Evan. He took aim and shot spikes directly in front of the wheel. The wheel hit the spikes and stopped, its momentum lost.  
  
  
  
Xavier looked down on the scenario in the Danger Room. He was pleased with what he had seen in Glen. He had taken a little prompting at first, but soon found himself using his powers to almost their full potential and had shown a little bit of heroic flair with his daring rescue of Kurt. "Let's see how the adaptation protocols Forge installed work out," he said, pressing some controls.  
  
  
  
The lights flashed in the Danger Room, and the laser fire increased in intensity. At the same time, several clawed tentacles lowered from the ceiling and went after the X-Men. Glen dodged a barrage of laser fire, only to be grabbed behind by a tentacle and tossed across the room. At the last second, he twisted his body in midair and absorbed the shock of impact with his legs. He saw Evan go flying by and hit the wall hard; he had suffered a similar fate. "We gotta take out those lasers!" Scott yelled, shooting an optic blast up towards the cannon nest in the ceiling. The beam hit an energy shield in front of the cannons and was deflected. The cannons all returned fire at Scott, and he dove out of the way, taking cover behind the wheel. Jean was forced back behind the wheel by the tentacles as well. "Those adaptation protocols are tough!" she said, gasping for breath. "My optic blasts can't get past the shield!" said Scott. "Can anybody hit those things? We're pinned down here!" Evan had recovered from his flight and took aim at the ceiling, but as he shot, a tentacle hit him from behind. The spikes went flying wildly across the room, impacting along the wall in a vertical row. Glen fired a stasis ray at the tentacle that had hit Evan, freezing it in place. He ducked out of the way of a second one and froze it as well. Both of the tentacles were now dangling like vines from the ceiling.  
  
  
  
Before Glen could shoot anything else, the ceiling lasers locked on to him and fired. He slipped out of time and reappeared next to Scott and Jean behind the wheel, the laser blasts pulverizing the floor that he had been standing on. Kurt teleported beside the 3 of them a moment later. "Man, these things are tough! Ve can't get at them through that shield!" Evan scrambled behind the wheel. "What are we gonna do?" he asked frantically. "I have an idea," said Glen. "Look at where I froze the tentacles, and look at how they're shorting out part of the shield on each side of the lasers. If we could get up there, we could probably take out the cannons," "Good idea," said Jean. "Kurt can teleport up on one side, but how will anybody get to the other side?" Glen looked over at the wall where Evan's spikes had hit. They almost formed a ladder. "If those spikes are strong enough, I can climb up and swing across using the tentacle," "Don't worry, they're strong enough," Evan said proudly. "We'll cover you from down here," said Scott. "I'll have to slip out of time while I'm climbing," said Glen. "Kurt, when you see me swinging on the tentacle, teleport up to the other side, and we'll short out the lasers," "Got it!" said Kurt. Glen stood up and made a run for the side of the room. Meanwhile, Evan and Scott began firing up at the ceiling cannons, trying to draw their fire.  
  
  
  
Glen reached the wall and began climbing. He made it up the first few spike steps, but as he reached for one above him, it was obliterated by a laser blast. "I'll have to slip out," he thought, and again found himself engulfed in the purple-white light. "Gotta hurry!" He climbed up the rest of the spikes, and then slipped back into time. He lined himself up with the tentacle and jumped, kicking off hard from the wall.  
  
  
  
Jean saw Glen jump across the space of the Danger Room and grab onto the frozen tentacle. "Go Kurt!" "On it," said Kurt, and disappeared with a –BAMF!- He reappeared grabbing the tentacle on the other side of the lasers and began to climb it. Glen did the same on the other side of the room. He reached the ceiling and could see the gap in the shield. "Kurt, we'll have to jump through the holes in the shield. Go!" They simultaneously leaped through the air and landed on the laser cannons. Kurt pried off the access panel of one laser with his hands and tore out the circuits while wrapping his tail around another cannon and ripping it from its mounting. Meanwhile, Glen froze the other two cannons. When the last cannons were disabled, the shield collapsed. "Exercise concluded," toned the computer. Glen and Kurt slid down the tentacles to the ground. "Good thinking vith the tentacles. And thanks again for the rescue," "Sure thing. You were pretty good yourself back there," He held out his hand, and Kurt grasped it, much less tentatively than he had earlier. Glen felt Scott clap him on the shoulder. "Good job, Glen. Welcome aboard!" 


	4. Blue Twilight

Chapter 4:  
  
The rest of the day was much less stressful. All of the students, as well as Xavier, had complemented him on not only surviving his first Danger Room session, but for his tactics and his daring save of Kurt. Even Kurt was opening up to him a little more, although there were times when he still tended to shy away from Glen. After dinner Glen and Kitty were talking together. Kurt joined the conversation for a few moments, but excused himself and went upstairs glumly. "Is he always this moody?" Glen asked Kitty. "Yeah," said Kitty. "Most of the time he's pretty outgoing, but, like sometimes he just gets all depressed and nobody can talk to him," "I'll be back in a little bit," "Hey, if you're gonna talk to Kurt, see if you can, like, talk him into going to the mall tomorrow. Wanna come?" "Sure!" said Glen, and then headed upstairs.  
  
  
  
Glen walked upstairs to Kurt's bedroom and saw that Kurt's door was slightly ajar. Glen knocked, but got no answer. He opened the door slightly. "Kurt?" he called in. He got no answer, but he could see that the window in Kurt's room was open, leading out onto the balcony. He climbed through the window and walked out on the balcony.  
  
  
  
It was a clear, starry night out. Glen could see for at least a mile off of the balcony. He saw Kurt sitting on the rail, perched like a gargoyle. Glen walked up beside him. "Mind if I join you?" he asked. Kurt looked up, startled. "Oh! Um, sure, if you vant," Glen sat down on the railing next to Kurt. For a while, neither of them said anything, they just sat gazing at the stars. Glen resisted the temptation to make small talk. He was up here for a reason, and he figured that Kurt would open up when he was ready. After a little while, Kurt looked up at him. "I'm sorry for running over you this morning," he said. "And I'm sorry for staring at you," said Glen. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I've just never seen anybody like you before," "I know. And I shouldn't have left you there. It's just that every time somebody sees me, they freak out over the vay I look. I scare people!" Glen put his arm around Kurt. "I know how you feel, Kurt. I know what it's like to have people be afraid of me because of who I am," "How could you know?" asked Kurt, a tone of accusation in his voice. "You just found out that you're a mutant yesterday!" "That's not what I was talking about," said Glen. "Then, vhat do you mean?" "I'm gay," said Glen. Kurt's eyes went wide as he heard this. "Nein! No vay!" said Kurt, pulling away from Glen. "It's true," said Glen. "And I have to deal with it every day, having people look at me, hearing them say, 'Queer, faggot,', having to run from people who want to hurt me," "Is it really that bad?" asked Kurt, leaning back closer. "Well, not everybody at school treats me like that, but there are a few people who are really nasty. Lance Alvers and his friends especially," "That's no surprise," muttered Kurt. "He hates everybody! Even us, when he's a mutant, too!" "If he's a mutant like us, why isn't he here with Professor Xavier?" "Somebody else got to him first," said Kurt. "You mean Magneto?" Kurt paused, pondering whether to tell Glen who had REALLY influenced Lance. "Yeah, Magneto found him. He and his friends, the Brotherhood," "Figures," said Glen.  
  
"How do you deal with all the people being mean to you all the time?" asked Kurt.  
  
"Well it gets tough at times," said Glen. "But every time somebody tries to hurt me, I remind myself that I am not the bad person they're saying I am. I refuse to believe that I'm a bad person because of the way I was born, and I have the utmost respect for myself, because I can't expect anybody else to respect me if I can't respect myself for who I am,"  
  
  
  
Glen could see the look of comprehension on Kurt's face, and decided to press home. "You know," he said. "maybe that's why you feel depressed a lot. You're so concerned about how other people react to something you can't control, that you forget to respect yourself,"  
  
Kurt nodded as a tear trickled down his cheek. "Ja, I think you're right," he said.  
  
Glen looked at him. "I don't think you're a monster, Kurt. In fact, I think you're one of the most beautiful people I've ever met,"  
  
Kurt looked up at Glen, a little shocked. "Vhat are you saying? Are you trying to…"  
  
"No, I'm not. I know you're not gay, and I'll respect that. I'm just trying to tell you that I will always care about you and respect you, even if you feel like you can't respect yourself,"  
  
This time Kurt put his arm around Glen. "Thank you," he said softly.  
  
  
  
They sat in silence for a while longer. Then Glen remembered about Kitty. "Hey, are you up for a trip to the mall with me and Kitty tomorrow?" he asked.  
  
"Sure!" said Kurt. "I LOVE the mall!"  
  
"Cool. I'll let Kitty know you're coming," Glen said, and went back inside. Kurt followed him in and back downstairs, feeling much better about himself. Kitty saw the smile on his face and pulled Glen aside. "Whatever you said to him, it sure worked!"  
  
"I just told him that no matter what happens, no matter what he thinks, he'll always be respected," said Glen. 


	5. Shopping Spree

Chapter 5  
  
Glen, Kitty, and Kurt set out for the mall early the next morning. As they were strapping into the jeep, Kurt activated his holo-watch. Glen saw the blue boy shimmer for a second as Kurt was replaced by a boy with dark, shoulder length hair, wearing khakis, a red shirt, and a tan vest. "Wow," said Glen. "That watch does a pretty good job. It even looks like you have 5 fingers," "Yeah, but don't let the image fool you," said Kurt. "If you shook my hand, you'd only feel 3," As they drove along, Kurt said to Glen, "You know, if it were just the three of us at the mall, I wouldn't wear this thing. In fact, I almost feel like I can throw it away!" "But people would be able to see what you really looked like if you did that," said Kitty. "I know, but today, I'm only wearing it for them. Not for me," replied Kurt, giving Glen a knowing grin.  
  
  
  
They arrived at the mall and parked in an underground garage. Inside, they found the mall teeming with people. As they walked along, Kitty noticed that Kurt seemed to be noticeably more relaxed than he normally was in public. She even saw him smiling at a couple cute girls in front of a store. They smiled and waved back as they walked past. "I don't think I've ever seen him this relaxed before," Kitty said to Glen. "Isn't it amazing what a little self-respect will do for you?" replied Glen. "Oh, hang on a sec. I wanna get something in here!" he said, quickly ducking inside a fabric store. "Like, what's he want in there?" asked Kitty. Glen emerged from the store a moment later, holding a bag. "Vhat'd you get?" asked Kurt. "I'll show you later, it's a surprise," Glen grinned. They walked on until they came to a music store, and they all went in. Kurt and Kitty put some headphones on and were soon dancing to some techno music. Meanwhile, Glen was pouring through the jazz and classical sections. He picked out a Tchaikovsky CD, and also some Miles Davis CD's before joining Kurt and Kitty in their dance. When he showed them his CD's, they laughed a bit. "Like, what do you want with Tchaik, uh, Chow, er, whatever his name is!" said Kitty. "Because gay people write the best music," said Glen, matter-of- factly. "He was gay?" asked Kurt. "Yep. A lot of classical composers were," said Glen. "Why do you think some of this stuff is so passionate and romantic?" "Good point," said Kurt.  
  
  
  
They walked around the mall for a little while longer, had lunch, and then decided to head home. On their way out, they passed a photo booth. "Hey, let's get some pictures!" said Kitty. They went in the booth and were soon striking all sorts of comic poses. After the camera stopped shooting, Kurt looked down at his watch; it had been on the whole time. He remembered what Glen had said about respecting himself, and shut off the watch. "Hey, let's get one more. I'll pay," he said. The camera captured a great image of 2 boys and one girl smiling and hugging in friendship, with one boy having bunny ears sticking out above his blue, furry head and the girl having a spaded tail emerging from the top of her head.  
  
  
  
They made their way back to the garage and found the jeep. As Glen opened the door, Kurt said, "Vait a minute, I want to see vhat you bought at that store!" "Oh, it's just a little something that I thought would make my uniform look a little better," said Glen. "In fact, I wore it along so I could see for myself," He took off his sweater, revealing his uniform. He opened the bag and pulled out a stretch of silvery fabric. He tied it around his waist in a sash, with the long end hanging down across his right leg. "What do you think?" he asked a giggling Kitty and Kurt.  
  
  
  
"I think it makes you look like a total freak!" called a voice from across the garage. The three looked up to see Lance Alvers glaring at them. He was not alone; his friends Todd Tolansky and Fred Dukes were standing beside him.  
  
"Alvers," Glen growled under his breath. Kurt and Kitty also glared at the other mutants.  
  
Lance swaggered over to the jeep. "Don't tell me this little fag is with you," he sneered. "Are you one of THEM now, fag? Do you have powers all of a sudden?"  
  
"Yes, I am," said Glen. "And you don't want to find out what I can do,"  
  
"Ooh, I'm shaking," said Lance. He looked over at Kitty. "Kitty, don't waste your time with this little fag. Come be with a real man,"  
  
"He's more of a man then you'll ever be, Lance Alvers!" Kitty yelled at him.  
  
"He's nothing! He's just a little faggot, that's all," said Lance. "I'm gonna enjoy this," he said, as he and his friends closed in to attack.  
  
Kurt and Kitty got ready to fight, but before anything could happen, there were two flashes of purple-white light, and Fred and Todd were frozen in their tracks. Lance looked at them, startled.  
  
"You faggot, what'd you do to them!" he shouted.  
  
"They're frozen in time, and if you don't watch yourself, you'll join them!" Glen said, staring daggers at him.  
  
"I'm gonna crush you, you little faggot!" shouted Lance.  
  
"Hey! I have a name, and you'd do well to remember it!" said Glen.  
  
"And what IS your name, fag?"  
  
"My NAME is Chronos!" said Glen, and prepared to freeze Lance.  
  
Lance clenched his fist, and the entire garage started to shake. Glen, Kitty, and Kurt were knocked off their feet by the force of Lance's earthquake. Bits of plaster began to fall from above as the ceiling began to crack. "Quick, get in the jeep!" shouted Glen. They climbed in and Kitty started the motor. She floored the gas and the jeep headed for the exit.  
  
"No you don't!" shouted Lance, and clenched his fist again. A large piece of the ceiling collapsed and fell, blocking the exit. "He's gonna bring the whole place down!" shouted Kitty. "Keep driving, and hang on!" shouted Kurt. He grabbed the sides of the jeep and closed his eyes. The jeep drove forward through the rain of debris. Glen's eyes went wide as they got closer and closer to the large chunk of the ceiling that had fallen. "We're gonna crash!" he shouted. "No we're not," yelled Kurt. "Hold on!" Glen smelled smoke, and then suddenly, with a loud –BAMF!-, they were back outside, driving down the highway. Behind them, they could hear the garage collapsing. Kurt slumped back in his seat, exhausted from the effort of teleporting the jeep as well as all three of them.  
  
"That was incredible!" said Glen. "Glad you liked it," said Kurt.  
  
"Do you think Lance and the others made it out of there?" asked Glen.  
  
"They always do," said Kitty. 


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
"Chronos?" asked Evan.  
  
"Yeah. I figured it would be appropriate for a time-manipulator," said Glen as they stood outside the Danger Room, ready to start another session.  
  
"Nice sash," said Rogue.  
  
"Thanks. I thought the uniform looked a little bland," said Glen.  
  
"You're telling me," Rogue said, rolling her eyes.  
  
Xavier wheeled up. "The rest of you can relax for a bit. This is a special session for Glen and Kurt only," he said. Glen and Kurt entered the Danger Room while Xavier and the others went up to the control room.  
  
"What do we do?" Glen called up to the booth.  
  
"This is a simple game of hide and seek. All you have to do is catch Kurt," said Xavier over the intercom.  
  
The computer began counting down. "3, 2, 1, begin," The lights flashed, and Kurt vanished with a –BAMF!-  
  
Glen looked around, trying to find Kurt. As he did, the room began to shift, with sections of the wall moving outwards, forming a maze. He ran down one of the corridors, looking for Kurt. He heard a shuffling noise from around a corner. He jumped out, and then ducked as a blade whizzed past his head. "Not down there," Glen muttered. He kept going, and as he rounded another corner, he saw Kurt. He crept up behind him slowly, but as he reached out to grab him, Kurt's tail perked up, and he vanished again. Glen heard a –BAMF!- behind him and turned around to see Kurt appearing from behind him. He dove at Kurt, but Kurt jumped out of the way and scampered up one of the maze walls. "Neener neener neener!" he called down tauntingly.  
  
  
  
Kitty was watching the action from up in the control booth. She laughed as Kurt dodged out of the way of Glen. "Self-respect indeed!" she said.  
  
  
  
Glen sat up, and saw Kurt stick his tongue out at him playfully before vanishing again. "He could be anywhere in this maze," he thought to himself. "Well, if he can get up there, so can I!" He made a run at one of the walls, jumped, kicked off, kicked off the opposite wall, and pulled himself up onto the top of the maze. He ran around the top of the maze, looking for Kurt. Suddenly, he saw him. Glen crouched, then leapt down. Kurt saw him at the last instant and teleported, and Glen crashed to the ground.  
  
Glen shook the stars out of his head. "This is getting me nowhere," he thought. "Wait, I have an idea," He crossed his arms across his chest, and was surrounded by purple-white light as he slipped out of time. As he did so, he uncrossed his arms slightly. The result was that time around him slowed drastically, but did not stop.  
  
  
  
"What's he doing?" asked Rogue from up in the booth.  
  
"He's learning," said Xavier. "It looks as if he's discovered a new way to use his powers. Let's see how long he can hold himself in between time,"  
  
  
  
Glen saw the purple-white of his altered time clash freakishly with the normal colors of the room. They blended and merged with each other as he struggled to hold himself in between time. "Come on Kurt, come back!" he thought to himself. He smelled smoke from behind him, and turned around, releasing his grip on time and settling back into normal time. Kurt appeared, but Glen was ready for him, and Kurt didn't have a chance. Glen dove and tackled Kurt. "Gotcha!" he cried. "Ach! I give up!" Kurt said, laughing.  
  
  
  
"Impressive," said Xavier, up in the booth. "He's showing excellent adaptation and mastery of his powers. He'll be moving through time like a fish moves through water at this rate,"  
  
Kitty watched the two boys laughing on the floor. "That's not the only power he has," she thought, a smile forming on her face.  
  
  
  
Author's note: Unfortunately, this will be my last story for a while. I am leaving for Columbus, OH today to march drum corps, and I will not be returning until August, but I promise, there is much more coming! 


End file.
